Xiaomi Valued At $45B In Funding Round That Includes Investor Affiliated With Alibaba: Report

Lei Jun, founder and chief executive officer of China's mobile company Xiaomi Inc, introduces the new features of Xiaomi Phone 4 at its launching ceremony, in Beijing, July 22, 2014. Photo: Reuters

Xiaomi Inc. has been valued at $45 billion in a fresh funding round in which the Chinese smartphone maker has raised $1 billion from investors, including a fund affiliated with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Wall Street Journal reported, citing an unidentified person familiar with the matter.

The deal might finalize as early as Monday, led by All-Stars Investment, a technology investment fund operated by a former Morgan Stanley analyst Richard Ji, the paper reported. Existing investors DST Global and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC have also invested in the latest round, according to the report.

Xiaomi is looking to expand quickly beyond China, which still accounts for some 95 percent of its sales, into markets such as India, which is its next biggest market, as well as Indonesia and Brazil. The company is also adding investments of its own into a portfolio of products that it hopes will build an ecosystem for its smartphone users to tap into, including online video and smart home gadgets and services.

Yunfeng Capital, a fund affiliated with Jack Ma, chairman of Alibaba Group, is also participating in this round of investment, the paper reported.